Virginia has a complex history of music but the stories have never really been told until now.
Pete Crigler, the author of “Keeping It Tight in the Old Dominion: A History of Virginia Rock Music,” chronicles Virginia rock music from the 1950s to the present day.
We caught up with Crigler to get the full story.
What is “Keeping It Tight in the Old Dominion” about?
The book is a chronicling of Virginia rock bands from Gene Vincent in the 1950s to the punk rock of Cloak/Dagger and The Riot Before in the 21st Century. It is non-fiction and has been published by DogEar Publishing out of Indiana and is my very first book and first ever attempt at writing more than short stories.
What made you decide to chronicle Virginia’s rock music?
I decided to write because I felt that Virginia hip-hop and R&B always seemed to get more attention than rock music. Once I started researching, I realized that bands like Single Bullet Theory, The Dads and Happy Flowers were way more intriguing than Trey Songz or Missy Elliott.
The fact that so many musicians, well over 70, wanted to talk to me, even though I was an unproven and unknown writer still in college, speaks volumes to the stories that these guys wanted to tell and it just happened that I was the person they were talking to.
Did you learn anything new upon writing your book?
I have always been obsessed with music, even from the earliest age but there was no way I could ever imagine learning the things I learned researching this book.
The best thing about it though was the friendships I’ve made with these musicians. In fact, people like Matt Nelson of the '90s alternative rock band Fulflej out of Richmond sent me their entire catalogue through the mail after I told him I was unable to find their music anywhere. Charlie Kramer of Happy Flowers mailed me four or five CDs, which basically contained mostly everything they had recorded after I told him how badly I wanted to hear the music and couldn't.
Crigler’s book is available on Amazon and other major retail outlets.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement